Five stories that have North Texas talking: Lawmaker fasts in protest of "sanctuary cities" bill; Dallas County’s Faith Johnson finishes first 100 days as DA; American Airlines recovering from confrontation; and more.
State representative and political rookie Victoria Neave, a Democrat who represents District 107, which includes parts of Dallas, Mesquite and Garland, announced Sunday she would fast for four days in protest of Senate Bill 4, the so-called “sanctuary cities” bill. On Wednesday, the Texas House is set to debate the bill, which would ban cities, counties and universities from adopting policies that prevent local law enforcement agencies from asking about a person's immigration status or enforcing immigration law. The Texas Senate has approved the legislation.
On the Facebook event page for the fast, organizers write: “This bill will undermine community policing efforts and will affect our neighbors, our workforce, kids in our schools, and the relationship between police and our communities. This doesn't just affect the immigrant community, it impacts everyone who will need to prove he or she is a citizen.” Getting the bill passed is one of Gov. Greg Abbott’s emergency items this legislative session. He has already cut off state funding to Travis County for its new sheriff’s policies. Read more from The Dallas Morning News. [KERA News]
- Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson plans to raise $1 million for her re-election campaign, maintaining her status as the only Republican in a countywide seat. Johnson sat down with WFAA-TV’s Inside Texas Politics Sunday morning to discuss her first 100 days in office and her plans for the future. Since January, Johnson said she has held 185 community events, an additional 100 meetings inside her office and 40 speaking engagements and has helped expunge records for 122 people who either had not guilty verdicts or who were not indicted by grand juries. Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Johnson as the first black woman to serve as district attorney for Dallas County. [WFAA, KERA News]
- An American Airlines flight attendant was removed from duty after a verbal confrontation with a passenger. Spokeswoman Leslie Scott says the airline is looking into whether the male flight attendant violently took away a stroller from a female passenger just before she boarded a Friday flight from San Francisco to Dallas. A video taken by a passenger shows the sobbing woman holding a small child and saying, "You can't use violence with [a] baby." A male passenger then confronts the attendant, telling him, "You do that to me and I'll knock you flat." The flight attendant responds with "Hit me. Bring it on." Read more from NPR. [The Associated Press]
- More than 600 cities, including Dallas, Fort Worth and Denton marched for science on Saturday. The national March for Science on Earth Day was only dreamed up after the success of the Women’s March, which took place the day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration in Washington D.C. and across the country, according to The Associated Press. Earth Day itself was established 47 years ago. Fueled by political and public rejection of climate change and the safety of vaccine immunizations, participants advocated for science’s widespread and deeply ingrained role in society. [The Associated Press]
- Early voting begins today for May municipal elections across North Texas. It’s a crowded field of city council and school board candidates this year. But, local elections in North Texas are often low-turnout affairs, so a few votes can make a huge difference in deciding who makes decisions about development, services and how to spend local tax dollars. Early voting runs through May 2. Election Day is Saturday, May 6. The deadline to register to vote was April 6. Find out if you’re registered. And refer to our voter guide for more information on notable races in North Texas. [KERA News]
The High Five is KERA's daily roundup of news stories from Dallas-Fort Worth and across the state. Explore our archives here. And sign up for our weekly email for the North Texas news you need to know.
